sustainability
Better World Books Literacy Grants for Non-profits 2016
When you purchase books from Better World Books, a portion of the funds from the sale benefit various literacy programs including Better World Books Literacy Grants. Each year Better World Books invites libraries and nonprofit organizations to apply for funds to support their efforts to further literacy in their communities. The Better World Books Literacy Council reviews the submitted projects and selects library winners and nonprofit finalists. Nonprofit finalists are then put to a public vote. Three nonprofit grant winners will be selected by vote and two will be selected by the Better World Books Literacy Council. As a Founding B Corporation, Better World Books has raised over £18 million to date for literacy causes worldwide.
The vote is open to the public at www.betterworldbooks.co.uk/go/grants-2016-vote from now through Sept. 16, 2016 at 5 p.m. BST. Voters may vote once every 24 hours.
Opinion of the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union on e-lending
From the EBLIDA Newsletter July/August 2016 (the emphases are my own):
On 16 June, CJEU issued a Press Release of the Advocate General’s Opinion in Case C-174/15 Vereniging Openbare Bibliotheken v Stichting Leenrecht on the question about whether the lending of e-book could apply under the lending directive of 2006. The press release highlights that “(…) Advocate General Maciej Szpunar takes the view that the making available to the public, for a limited period of time, of electronic books by public libraries may indeed come within the scope of the directive on rental and lending rights.” Read more
for The Right to E-read
EBLIDA – European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations have posted an update on thier petition for The Right to E-read.
Time for reform?
Apr 01, 2015 — The London Manifesto calls for fair copyright that is fit for purpose and will benefit every European citizen.
Why fair copyright matters
Fair copyright across Europe is essential. Without it we will fail to adequately support research, innovation and growth, and hinder the ambition for a digital single market. With it we will better foster knowledge across borders, meet the needs of disabled people and take full advantage of the digital age.
The manifesto… Read more
Libraries and ebooks
I saw an interesting article about an American company, BiblioLabs, pushing to make borrowing library materials “as easy as an Amazon “1-Click” purchase“:
Readers love e-books. In 2011, just four years after Amazon.com launched its Kindle e-reader, the online bookseller said it had sold more e-books than print books. But you would never guess their popularity by visiting your typical public library’s website…
BiblioLabs is working with publishers, e-content licensers and libraries to simplify online lending and, perhaps as significant, to change the way libraries view their collections. Its software allows libraries to deliver any content — e-books, documents, images, video or audio — instantly. Already, 1,700 libraries in Massachusetts have adopted its BiblioBoard platform. The company also has deals with the states of Arizona and North Carolina to give all libraries access to its platform…
It reminded me of this campaign to allow public libraries across Europe to lend ebooks free of charge:
Just at a time when advances in technology should be extending access to the riches of human knowledge, libraries are being prevented from buying or lending e-books. This is undermining their ability to provide their almost 100 million users in Europe with free access to human knowledge. It also raises important questions about democracy, learning and research, and the effective engagement of all citizens in a knowledge society…
Therefore we call on the EU Commission for a clear copyright framework that allows libraries to acquire and lend e‐books with an adequate remuneration to authors and other rights holders. Just as with printed books, an updated copyright framework should allow libraries to continue to provide their services for the benefit of all European citizens!
my Kindle
I am a recent convert to the world of ebooks myself, having purchased my own little Kindle at the start of the year.
I’d been so against the concept for so long that I’ve quite shocked myself with my complete and instantaneous conversion to e-reading. Since taking delivery of my electronic little friend 6 months ago, I’ve read only one paper book – and that was only because it was a gift (from the author).
So, I’m pretty keen on the idea of more e-books in libraries.
A Very Fine Library 